Hearts moved up to second in the Scottish Premiership and within three points of leaders Rangers after two second-half goals settled a thrilling win over St Mirren at Tynecastle.

But Saints stopper Alnwick was finally beaten by Gary Mackay-Steven and Stephen Kingsley’s brilliant free-kick made the points safe, before St Mirren finished the game with 10 men following Joe Shaughnessy’s second yellow card.

The result was cruel on St Mirren, who have now gone six games without a win, dropping them down to seventh in the table.

And there was angst for both managers to contend with; the home side had midfielder Beni Baningime taken off on a stretcher late on, while St Mirren’s Scott Tanser limped off injured in the first half.

Celtic could return to second if they take at least a point against Aberdeen on Sunday.

The meeting was between two sides enjoying fruitful seasons, yet both were struggling for form. Hearts had won just once in six games, St Mirren none in five.

One thing that remains consistent, though, is the performances of Scotland goalkeeper Gordon, and the Hearts captain produced the first of many top-drawer saves early on when he denied St Mirren twice in a minute.

He deflected Eamonn Brophy’s powerful shot that was heading towards the bottom corner, before reacting quickly to deny Charles Dunne from the resultant corner.

And he was at it again when Shaughnessy volleyed a shot which deflected off Hearts defender Michael Smith, but Gordon was able to block its route to goal with his legs.

Not that it was all one-way traffic. Barrie McKay tested Alnwick early on, and Liam Boyce passed up the first half’s best opportunity when he shot weakly after being played through by Smith.

And then Alnwick produced a fine save of his own to deny Mackay-Steven when he met McKay’s cross to the back post.

The goalkeeping brilliance wasn’t over, and Gordon made three breath-taking saves all within a minute. The pick of the bunch was when Jamie McGrath hammered the ball at goal but Gordon stuck up his left hand to block it.

From the corner, Boyce cleared a shot off the line before Gordon charged down the rebound. Then, as St Mirren continued to pepper the Hearts goal, Kyle McAllister put his left foot behind the ball but Gordon tipped it over the bar.

After surviving St Mirren’s assault at goal, Hearts launched one of their own and after Alnwick saved from Smith, the home side finally broke the deadlock.

McKay’s shot was blocked, but it fell kindly into the path of Mackay-Steven who slipped the ball inside the left-hand post.

The pace from both sides didn’t let up. Alnwick was equal to Boyce’s close-range shot, but he had no chance as Kingsley curled a free-kick right into the top corner to make it two.

In the last throes of the game, Shaughnessy – who was fortunate not to be more severely punished in the first half for a waist-high challenge on Boyce – was ordered off after picking up a second booking for hauling over Cameron Devlin.

Man of the match – Craig Gordon

What did we learn?

Hearts have won just twice in seven games, yet the three points was enough to lift them into second in the table.

Despite some recent troubles, they are a different beast at home and remain unbeaten at Tynecastle this season.

On another day, St Mirren would have been celebrating a fine win and performance, but Hearts goalkeeper Gordon was in the sort of form that will have Scotland boss Steve Clarke dancing a jig of delight ahead of March’s World Cup play-offs. Well, maybe.

What did they say?

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson: “I think it was a tough 90 minutes. I thought St Mirren played really well.

“The next step for us now is the away form. It’s been a bit stop-start. We’ve got a chance to rectify that at Celtic Park on Thursday and we’ll go into that game with confidence.”

St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin: “I think for anybody that was here they’ll agree that 2-0 probably isn’t a fair reflection of our performance.

“Up until the first goal, there was nothing in the game. We have to take positives from that because Hearts are a good team and they’re doing well. We need to find a way to be more clinical in front of goal.”

What’s next?

Both teams are in action in midweek. St Mirren are at home to Ross County on Wednesday (19:45 GMT), while Hearts travel to Celtic on Thursday (19:45).

Sourced From BBC